Does It Fade Away
by nouore
Summary: AU; Over a century has passed since the Cullen family left Forks, Washington. When they meet up with a not-so-forgotten face, they must deal with the consequences of their actions, no matter how much they meant well. Rating may change for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any recognizable characters.

**A/N: **This is an AU fic and hopefully you, dear reader, will be able to put the pieces together with ease.

**Chapter 1 – Complacent**

**Jasper POV**

"Emmett, can you be any slower?" Alice yells at my biggest brother.

"Yes, I can." And with that he begins moving at a snail's pace. He mimes tripping over his feet and I can't help but laugh.

"Jasper, don't encourage him," Esme scolds from the driver's seat. We are posing as troubled children, so our mother drives us to school. The town is under the impression that our parents don't want us stealing the family car and running away. "Emmett, car, now!"

"Fine," he says after finishing his fall and doing a somersault. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"That's my job," I reply and I get a small chuckle out of my family members. Still laughing, Emmett closes the passenger door and Esme starts the half hour drive to school, never going more than five miles above the speed limit. Rosalie and I have yet to figure out how she can stand it.

We are all Cullens this time around, the adopted children of the always good doctor Carlisle and his brilliant wife Esme. Over the last couple of decades, Esme expanded her architectural hobby into a fairly large construction company. It is part of the reason we are in Montana to begin with; she is overseeing a project that will produce a new neighborhood complete with a gigantic park. Even as we drive down the road, she is on the phone with the foreman discussing permits and zoning. I never liked the paperwork that goes into building but Esme makes up for it by creating some amazing things over the years.

We never really liked Montana; the weather is too unpredictable. However, the scenery is gorgeous and we love our house. It is second only to our home in Forks, but we don't go there anymore.

"Jasper, don't," Edward hisses at me from his seat in the back of the vehicle. I can feel the sadness and guilt shoot through him; I had broken one of our unspoken rules.

"Sorry," I respond as I turn my attention to the other members of my family. I need to lighten the mood. There was no use triggering an Edward-moment so early in the school year. I hear my little brother growl at me and I direct my attention to my 'twin' sister.

"Rose, are you going on that hiking trip Tuesday?" We were both in third period Botany and our teacher passed out permission slips for the trip last week.

"Alice, how's the weather looking?" Rose asks while keeping her gaze out of the window but we all know she was looking at her reflection. I am the only one that feels the hint of self-loathing lingering in the sea of vanity that surrounds her.

Looking into the future, Alice's eyes become unfocused and she pouts. "It's going to rain Tuesday so the trip will be postponed for a day that happens to be the last sunny day until March."

"To answer your question: No, Jasper. I am not going on the hiking trip Tuesday," Rose tells me in an amused tone. I smile at her and sigh at the news. I was actually looking forward to plant collecting.

We continue our small conversations all the way to school. Esme even joins in a couple of times while still talking on the phone. Soon, we are at McAllister Day School and we gather our backpacks and packed lunches. People look over at us with the same curious expressions as always, some are a little bit afraid. I blame our cover story for that more than anything.

"Alright, you all have a good day!" our mother calls out to us as we get out the vehicle. She is dialing the number of one of the construction crews, feelings of determination and excitement flow around her. She is in her element.

"Bye mom! And make sure the green truck doesn't park in the mud!" Alice yells back with a cryptic smile and a wave before heading over to the middle school wing. She fought Carlisle long and hard about her academic placement but conceded when it was clear that we would be able to stay long enough for Esme to see her project through to completion. The new neighborhood is our mother's largest public project ever and she deserves the chance to see it finished. The last time she had something so expansive, Esme had to let someone else oversee the final touches because Alice had an incident.

"Bye Alice!" Esme yells back, smiling and nodding to let Alice know she understood her message. "Jasper? Come here for a moment please."

"Ma'am?" I walk back over to the SUV and lean in through the open window.

"What happened with Edward earlier?" She asks me with a worried look. I didn't think she caught that moment.

"Oh, mama, I was just thinking about the house and how we liked it and how it was our second favorite." I smiled at her, knowing how much she cares about our opinions on where we live.

"Which house is the favorite?" There is humor in her voice and I don't want to ruin the moment.

"The one in Forks," I mumble. Her face hardens and I feel her sadness.

"Well, we will just have to make this house the family favorite from now on," she says cheerfully, masking the hurt she feels from being reminded of when the family really suffered.

"It's getting there," I say just as the first bell rings. She gives me a kiss on the cheek and pulls off.

"Keep an eye on him!" I hear her say over the vehicle's engine and the conversations of other families dropping of their children.

"Don't I always?" I quietly respond as I jog through the front doors of the high school wing.

**Alice POV**

I love assemblies. There is at least one mixed school assembly a week, but this one sneaks up on me. It's the only time during the school day that I can sit with my family. The middle school and the high school share the cafeteria and the auditorium. But the middle school students eat earlier than the high school students so I don't get to see my family beyond travelling to and from school.

My class is usually one of the first in the large auditorium and I can rush to get good seats in the back for me and my family. My teacher always yells at me even after the meeting with Carlisle and Esme. They told Mrs. James that I was having difficulty being separated from my siblings and that it was good for me to sit with them during mixed school functions, even if it was against the rules. They even added on that it gave my siblings a break at home because I don't bug them so much on days when I get to see them during the school day.

Today is different though. My class is the last one to be seated. We are really separated by schools and there are more people here than normal. I don't know any of the new faces. On days with complete perfect attendance, the auditorium is hardly more than half full. This time, the teachers can't even sit down.

I try to look ahead at the future but my mind is cloudy. This is not a good sign.

_Edward? Edward? EDWARD!_ I mentally call out to my brother. In my vision, I see him answering me.

_Am I the only one that remembers the notice that went out last week?_

Oh, right. They are merging our school with Grayson County High School because their building was damaged in a wildfire last summer. The school district tried to do what they could but nothing helped.

The principal, Mr. Grant, walks onto the stage and everyone quiets down.

"Good Thursday to you all," he begins. "I know that we just had a gathering earlier this week but this one is even more special."

Everyone groans as they remember Monday's assembly on the new school uniforms we will have to wear beginning next month. I didn't mind it actually. Our school colors are black, gray, and white; these colors I can work with.

"Now, now. Don't be discouraged. I am going to turn the microphone over to Mr. Halliwell." We quiet down and really pay attention now. Mr. Halliwell is the school district superintendent; he is mean, gross, and powerful. Everyone is terrified of him, even our family.

The middle-aged man struts to the podium and doesn't acknowledge Mr. Grant when he reaches out to shake his hand. Some of the teachers make disgusted faces.

"Children, children," Mr. Halliwell says in a tone that sounds like he is calling the teachers children also. I am wondering how Jasper is holding up with all the hostility in the air and turn around to look for him.

"Alice Cullen! Face forward!" Mrs. James yells at me. Her voice echoes and I hear Emmett laughing at me along with a few other people.

"Sorry," I say as I make a mental note to get my brother back.

"If I may continue," Mr. Halliwell says in my direction, "I have a large announcement for you all." He pauses for effect. "I know that you all have heard of the wildfire that damaged the Grayson County High School over the summer." Some of the students nod their heads. "Well, after assessing the damage, the school district has decided to shut down Grayson County High School until further notice." We knew this also. "And we have decided that they ALL will be attending this wonderful school!" That is new because before we were only supposed to get a portion of the school's population. The student body groans, remembering too late that the new students were already in the auditorium when we came in. Everyone quiets down out of shame.

_Thanks Jasper._

For the first time, I am glad to be in middle school. Looking ahead, I see my siblings spending the rest of the day going through multiple course schedule changes to accommodate the newcomers. It is tedious and not worth the day of no classes. But that is all. Nothing more specific comes up in my visions and I become even more worried.

Mr. Grant goes back up to the podium and we can hear Mr. Halliwell saying something about small schools surrounding a larger one. "Everyone! Our newcomers already have their schedules but current students have the option to change theirs." Some of the seniors cheer.

"Of course you all will be following strict guidelines," he says in response to the outburst. Mr. Grant smiles at everyone; he is always an agreeable man. "But first, our middle schoolers should head back to class while the high schoolers use the day to get adjusted."

He nods to the middle school teachers and with that our teachers begin ushering us to the side doors and out of the auditorium. I try to get a glimpse of my family but Mrs. James stands in front of me and tells me to turn around and march. The last thing I see is Rose's face laughing at me.

**Rosalie POV**

I swear she does act like a thirteen year old sometimes. Embarrassing, immature, spoiled. I didn't blame her for throwing a fit over going to the eighth grade since being in high school was bad enough, but she didn't realize it looked good on her. She was happier than she has ever been whenever we played school.

For some reason, we are all happier and it's not Jasper's doing.

I think it has something to do with Esme moving away from her stay-at-home mom status. We didn't need the money but I think she just wanted to get away from Edward. Our mother has sort of given up on her youngest child and the situation makes me sad. Decades ago, Esme couldn't wait until her little boy returned, and now it's as if she is counting down the days until he leaves again. I don't blame her. Jasper says she stopped feeling guilty about not trying to interact with him a long while back, probably the second or third time he came home with red eyes after being away for years. Even Emmett has told me that he thinks Carlisle only lets Edward return home out of pure hope that he will change back into a little bit of the person we love.

And we do still love him. At least we love the thought of him, the memory of him. The walking sack of disappointment and rage we see every day isn't our Edward.

All of a sudden I worry that he can hear me but I don't think he even knows where he is right now. There are students and teachers everywhere handing out schedule forms and he just sits in his seat, staring into space. For someone whose eyes just turned back to gold a month ago, he really is calm.

I look for Jasper but he is concentrating on something. I turn away so I don't draw any attention to him and he can work in peace. As a precaution, I find Emmett who is gleefully filling out a new schedule. I know he isn't trying to get all of his classes with me because it won't work. Carlisle gave the school strict rules to not let any of us take classes together, except for me and Jasper since we are twins.

Right on cue, Jasper sits next to me in a seat I didn't realize was free. He waves Emmett over and I know we have no more than five minutes to talk before a teacher separates us.

"Someone here is furious," Jasper says low enough so that only we can hear him.

"Is it Ed?" Emmett asks with sadness in his voice. He is the one hurting the most from our little brother's behavior. He stopped trying to make him laugh years ago.

"No, it's one of the new students. That is all I know. But—" he abruptly stops and an incredulous look forms on his face.

Emmett and I follow his gaze and our mouths drop open.

Four of the new students look at us with violet eyes, the only kind of violet possible by putting blue contacts over red colored eyes.

We are not alone.

**A/N:** The next chapter introduces Bella into the story. Thank you for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any recognizable characters.

**A/N: **Thank you for the follows and alerts and reviews because I just realized that the site did not carry over my formatting for the first chapter. This chapter was difficult to write. I know exactly what I want to happen but putting it into words is very frustrating.

This is an AU fic and hopefully you, dear reader, will be able to put the pieces together with ease.

**Chapter 2 – Flying Blind**

**Carlisle POV**

As far as offices go, this is one of my least favorites. The one window faces the alley behind the hospital and is covered in years of filth. My chair is squeaky and the cushion is falling out of it. The other chairs in the room are plastic with bent legs. The desk is covered in scratches and the drawers stick. I have no bookshelf so anything that cannot fit on the desk goes on a little table in the corner. The phone barely works and if my hearing wasn't so good, I would never hear it ringing. The computer has to be at least a decade old and is the last to receive the medical file updates the hospital sends out weekly. I am always bringing work home.

I blame the head of the board of directors, Mr. Xavier Thomas. Ever since I interviewed for the job, his name has followed me throughout the hospital: "Mr. Thomas says he is happy to have you here" or "Mr. Thomas is so grateful to have someone of your expertise available" or "Mr. Thomas is shocked you decided to take the position"; I hate it but not more than never having met the man.

But now, I am in my shabby office waiting for this Mr. Thomas to finally meet me face-to-face. I am surprised Alice did not warn me about this. I was only in the hospital for fifteen minutes before his secretary called me and said to expect him in half an hour.

I am unnaturally nervous and I start pacing. Right when I make the decision to call my wife for some support, there is a knock on the door. _Here we go._

"Come in," I say and I am embarrassed by the state of my office, even if I did all I could by cleaning as much as possible. The door opens and I can't hide my shock. I zero in on my boss' violet eyes and take a step back; Mr. Thomas is a vampire.

"Hello, Dr. Cullen," he says to me in an oddly amused voice. "Or can I call you Carlisle?" He closes the door behind him but does not move any further.

"Carlisle is fine if I may call you Xavier," I tell him and I motion for him to take a seat. He doesn't cringe when the chair groans under his weight but he smirks when my chair crunches as I sit down.

"Xavier is just fine," he replies, his facial expression unchanging. My attention is drawn to his violet eyes just as his is focused on my golden gaze. We don't speak for a few minutes.

"I am sure you wanted this meeting for a reason?" I have better things to do than sit around with an unknown vampire whom I am positive has it out for me. He does not answer me and his face becomes a mix of confusion and anger. I watch as he reaches in his inside jacket pocket and pulls out four photographs. He keeps the rest in his hand and slides the first one over to me.

I look down at the photo and realize that he is going to show me his family. In the first picture, I recognize Xavier immediately by his light brown complexion and bald head.

"This is my wife, Leanne," he says, pointing at the woman standing next to him in the photo. It is nighttime and they are standing on the deck of a large yacht. His wife is a faded cream color and has long black hair that looks curled. She is only a couple of inches shorter than him. I nod appreciatively and wonder if this Leanne will be up to meeting Esme.

"These are my sons, William, Montgomery, and Isaac," he pushes the next photo towards me. The three brothers are sitting in a tree and looking down at the camera. William is the smallest of the three and the same complexion as Leanne; his hair is curly and blonde. Montgomery is the tallest; his complexion is a darker brown than Xavier's and his hair is in an afro. Isaac is pale and has short, straight black hair. I am reminded of my own boys.

"And…" He looks at me worriedly before revealing the next photo. Bracing himself, he slides the last picture closer. "These are my daughters, Grace and –"

"Bella!" I interrupt. I would know that face anywhere. Her hair is still that odd reddish brown and her skin still pale and translucent. I take a second to notice the other girl in the photo who is the same complexion as Xavier and wears her dark brown hair in braids. The girls are in front of a bookshelf and give an annoyed look to the camera as if their reading was interrupted.

Xavier watches me as he pushes the last photo towards me. It is a group photo and they are a happy family. Each person has the same violet eyes as Xavier and I do not comment on their dietary habits. In the background there is a large home and a cloudy sky. My finger touches the embossed date in the lower right corner.

"2035?" I ask. The last time any of us saw Bella was in late 2005, after her 18th birthday party. In the two photos Xavier presented to me with her in them, she looks just the same.

"She had only been with us for a month when this picture was taken," Xavier explains. He tries to smile but there is pain in his voice.

"You were not the one to change her?" I ask him and watch as his face becomes something terrifying.

"No, Carlisle, I was not the one who changed her," he says angrily, "but you know who did."

**Emmett POV**

_Edward, we will let you out after they leave._

I make sure the door is bolted shut before I head into the living room. Jasper pats me on the shoulder and I sit down on the couch next to Rosalie.

"How long before he finds his way out?" she asks me, holding my hand. She is worried, we all are.

"I give it at least six hours," I reply. Alice nods her head in agreement. That is six hours to find out what is going on, six hours until Edward unleashes another one of his tantrums onto the family.

"It's embarrassing," Rosalie says.

"It's necessary," Alice tells her as she plops onto the floor with her head in her hands.

"Alice, dear, get off of the floor," Esme calls down from upstairs. Ever since we moved to Montana, Alice's visions have been about nothing more than the weather and little events here and there. She felt terrible when Carlisle came home and told us about the meeting in his office and the one happening at midnight.

"Emmett, is Edward secure?" Esme continues.

"Yes." I hated to chain Edward up but Xavier said he wanted him close so they could leave Bella at home. He also told Carlisle that his family did not want to see his face. _Bella. We thought she was long dead._ I hear Edward's chains and mentally apologize.

"Rosalie, did you find the photo album?"

"Yes." She holds the fairly large book in her hand. We were unsure whether or not we still had it or left it in the house in Forks.

"Jasper, did you find those documents?" The documents were an even bigger gamble, but they were tucked away inside the photo album. Alice swears she didn't have anything to do with it.

"Yes." He was sitting on the floor, rubbing Alice's back. I felt bad for him because he had to deal with Edward's furiousness, Alice's frustration, and the confusion of everyone else. _When does he get to feel his own emotions?_

The only thing about this meeting that Alice was sure of is that we will need the photo album from our last time in Forks, Washington and the forged documents we had made for when Bella was turned. She told us her head wouldn't hurt so much if we had those two things. However, no one could figure out why we would need them.

"What time is it?" Carlisle asks as he leaves his study. His boss is coming over, we are dealing with a mini-crisis, and he is still working. We told him to get a new computer for his office but he said it would be tactless.

"It's midnight," Esme says, walking down the steps. She looks around the room at the rest of us and sighs. We are all quiet and we hear the chains clanking in the basement.

"Embarrassing," Rosalie repeats and she goes into the dining room which we set up for the meeting. Esme follows her and then Carlisle goes in a few seconds later.

"They're here!" Alice yells. She gets off of the floor and notices the rumpled state of her clothes. "I'm going to go change."

"No you are not," Esme tells her as she and Carlisle walk to the front door. The headlights from the cars shine through the foyer windows.

"Everyone, please go into the dining room. Esme and I will greet our guests," Carlisle instructs. "Edward, please be quiet while we figure this all out." We hear the chains stop moving and my siblings go to the dining room.

"Emmett? Please follow them," Carlisle says in a tired but stern voice.

"What if they are dangerous?" I ask. We hear the car doors opening and closing. Our encounter with four of the violet-eyed vampires at school was strained. We never spoke but throughout the day it seemed like they were following us. I am surprised there wasn't an altercation in the parking lot afterschool.

"If they are indeed a threat, I would rather you all be together," Carlisle replies. Esme smiles at me and I head towards the dining room just as the doorbell rings.

**Esme POV**

I squeeze my husband's hand before opening the door and letting our guests into our home.

"Good evening," I say to Xavier who is the first one to cross the threshold. He doesn't reply but shakes hands with Carlisle. His daughter, Grace, follows him in and greets me with a smile. She nods to my husband. After her is Xavier's three sons and his wife and neither of them acknowledge me.

I look outside to make sure there is no one else and close the door. I do not lock it so Xavier and his family can feel free to leave whenever they want.

"Shall we go into the dining room?" Carlisle suggests. Xavier takes a deep breath and follows my husband; his children are close behind. Leanne stays with me.

"Where is he?" she asks me, referring to Edward. I look her in the eye before I respond.

"Can't you hear him?" She is quiet for a few seconds.

"Oh," she replies after hearing the chains in the basement. "Good."

"You all requested that he be in the house and unable to leave," I say. We are walking to the dining room where everyone is getting seated.

"Thank you for honoring our wish," Leanne tells me. I let her go into the dining room first and I hear her faintly say "You have a lovely home. I hope I will be able to see it during a happier time."

I smile at her thankfully and wish the same.

She sits down but not next to her husband. Xavier sits in the seat at the end of the table. On his left is Grace and on her left is a large space between her and Jasper. On Xavier's right are his three sons and then Leanne.

I sit down next to Carlisle who is seated in the seat at the other end of the table. I am on his right and Rosalie is on my right and Jasper is on hers. To Carlisle's left is Alice then Emmett. The photo album is in front of Rosalie and the documents are in front of Carlisle.

No one says a word until Grace blurts out, "I thought you all were supposed to be this conniving, obsessive, heartless family that leaves people helpless just because you can."

My family and I are frozen and speechless. Xavier gives a small chuckle and William joins in. Isaac's expression is one of fear and he lowers his head. Only Montgomery and Leanne give Grace a scolding look.

"I apologize for my daughter's behavior," Leanne tells us. She gives Grace another look and the rest of her family collects themselves.

"Why would you think that?" Emmett asks incredulously.

"Because—" Grace begins but is interrupted by Leanne.

"This was a bad idea," Leanne says as she rises from the table. Her family follows her lead. "No, you all stay here. I won't be long." And she leaves the house at vampire speed.

"Where is she going?" Isaac asks.

"She's going to get Bella," Alice replies with a smile. My family and I relax, Bella is coming home.

**Edward POV**

_No, not Bella. She can't come here. _

_My family is going to kill me. No, they are going to kick me out, cast me out like in the Bible. I don't blame them one bit._

I can only wait, in chains, for their judgment.

**Bella POV**

I hear my mom before I see her and sink further into my chair in our study.

"Back already?" I was under the impression I would have at least three hours by myself.

"Bella, my love… we need you to tell them what happened," Leanne tells me. I shake my head no. I don't want to see them. I want nothing to do with that family after what they did to me. I hate them.

"Bella, they are acting as if they did nothing wrong," Leanne pleads. "Your brothers want to kill them and Grace can't wait to dance on their ashes."

"Let them get rid of that horrible family," I tell her. I get up to go to my room but Leanne stops me.

"If anything," she begins, "let them hear why they have to die from your mouth."

I think about it and my head spins. I can't see them. I don't want to see them. I hate them.

"No," I say as I pull away from my mother and head up the steps.

"Bella, please—"

"No!" I yell. I go back downstairs so I can scream directly in her face. "They deserve to die! I hate them for what they did to me! Their deaths will bring me peace!" I sit on the steps and take deep breaths.

"Bella, I don't think they know what happened to you," Leanne tells me. I look into her eyes but not for long. She didn't take her contacts out so as they dissolve, the venom falls down her face like tears. Something inside me twists and I rush to her.

"Mama, don't cry," I tell her and give her a hug. "I will go, just stop crying." She wipes her face and smiles.

"Baby, I have not cried in centuries." She pushes my chin up so I can face her. "But are you sure you want to go?" I nod my head. "You can leave at any time."

"I will," I reply. She lets me go and gives me a couple of minutes to change out of my sweatpants and t-shirt and into a pair of jeans, a sweater, and sneakers.

"Ready?" she asks, opening the front door.

"Ready," I say with little courage. Together, we run to the Cullen home.

**A/N:** Thank you for reading and please review. The next chapter is going to answer some questions and maybe create some new ones.


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